Begin forwarded message:
> From: Ronni Blair <ronni.bl...@gmail.com> > Date: August 4, 2010 2:07:15 AM PDT > Subject: AUDIT: Greece will be a war zone, Sect of Revolutionaries warns > tourists -- can't happen here? > > Greece will be a war zone, Sect of Revolutionaries warns tourists > http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/01/greece-war-zone-revolutionaries-tourists > > Security forces fear wave of terror as austerity programme provokes strikes, > protests, violence – and assassination > > > A protesting lorry driver argues with a police officer outside the Ministry > of Transport in Athens. Photograph: Dimitri Messinis/AP > > Greek security forces have warned of a wave of violence reminiscent of the > terror that stalked Italy in the seventies after urban guerillas threatened > last week to turn the country into a "war zone". > > "Greece has entered a new phase of political violence by anarchist-oriented > organisations that are more murderous, dangerous, capable and nihilistic than > ever before," said Athanasios Drougos, a defence and counter-terrorism > analyst in Athens. > > "For the first time we are seeing a nexus of terrorist and criminal > activity," he said. "These groups don't care about collateral damage, > innocent bystanders being killed in the process. They are very extreme." > > The threats came from a guerrilla group called the Sect of Revolutionaries, > as it claimed credit for the murder of Sokratis Giolas, an investigative > journalist. Giolas was shot dead outside his Athenian home on 19 July, in > front of his pregant wife. > > The gang promised to step up attacks on police, businessmen, prison guards > and "corrupt" media – and, for the first time, threatened holidaymakers. > > "Tourists should learn that Greece is no longer a safe haven of capitalism," > its declaration said. > > "We intend to turn it into a war zone of revolutionary activity with arson, > sabotage, violent demonstrations, bombings and assassinations, and not a > country that is a destination for holidays and pleasure." > > In an accompanying picture, the group displayed an arsenal that included AK > 47 assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and brass knuckledusters. > > "Our guns are full and they are ready to speak," it said. "We are at war with > your democracy." > > The terror threat comes as Greek authorities endure a summer of strikes and > escalating upheaval. Military trucks and petrol company vehicles were > employed yesterday to alleviate a fuel shortage as more 30,000 lorry and > tanker truck operators ignored a government order to return to work on pain > of prosecution. Shortages were reported on many holiday islands and > destinations in northern Greece where thousands of tourists are stranded. > > The far more serious scourge of domestic terrorism was thought to have been > eradicated in 2004, with the disbandment of the 17 November group. > > Born out of the turmoil that followed the collapse of US-backed military > rule, 17 November murdered the CIA station chief, Richard Welch, in 1975. > > For the following 27 years it targeted Turkish envoys, juntists, US military > personnel, industrialists and western diplomats, including a British military > attaché in Athens, Brigadier Stephen Saunders, who was murdered in 2000. > > Unlike 17 November, Greece's new generation of urban guerrillas has not tried > to garner popular support. > > The Sect of Revolutionaries emerged from the rioting after a teenager, Alexis > Grigoropoulos, was shot dead by a policeman in December 2008. The men and > women thought to comprise its closely guarded ranks are in their late > twenties and thirties and appear to espouse violence almost for the sake of > it. > > "We don't do politics, we do guerilla warfare," its members announced in the > proclamation placed on the boy's grave within hours of their first attack, on > a police station, in February 2009. Two weeks later they sprayed the offices > of a private television station with bullets. Three months after that, they > claimed their first victim, Nectarios Savvas, a police officer protecting a > state witness. Six people have died in separate attacks this year. > > Last month another group, yet to be named, sent a parcel bomb wrapped up as a > gift to the office of Michalis Chrysohoidis, the minister in charge of public > security. It killed his chief aide. > > The surge in violence comes amid rising social tensions over the austerity > measures enforced by the government in exchange for €110bn in emergency aid, > the biggest bailout in history. > > Mounting social unrest, waning support for political parties and record > levels of unemployment among an increasingly radicalised youth are believed > to have augmented the ranks of anti-establishment groups. > > "The economic crisis has most definitely played a role in aggravating the > violence," Chrysohoidis told the Observer. "And the violence we are seeing is > worst than ever before because society as a whole is more violent than ever > before." > > To date Chrysohoidis, who oversaw the break-up of 17 November during a > previous stint in the same post, has ordered police to tread a fine line. > > But anger is growing. Security officials say it is only a matter of time > before one of the three groups currently active in Greece strikes again. > > More worrying, they say, are their connections to the Balkan criminal > underworld that has made access to weapons dangerously easy. > > "In other European countries, home-grown terrorism has been on the decrease > for years," said Drougos. "But in Greece the situation is not unlike > pre-Bolshevik revolutionary Russia or Italy at the start of the terror > campaign by the Red Brigades… it's very unpredictable and tourists should be > vigilant." > > > =
